The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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aka eraser

Re: Paragraph 24

A further thought on the infamous Paragraph 24: Is perhaps another reason for using all that obsolete production-speak, aside from the smokescreen for the rights-grab, to give the impression that they're a traditional publisher using offset printing without coming out and saying that they're a tradtional publisher using offset printing?

I think that's a Bingo!
 

Gwen4

Re: well...name change

I like the title of my book, but I had already thought of changing it as it is. So, that would be the first thing I would do. Also, I have hired a book editor who (for a sum) did a complete line edit and the book is so different now than the original. I have done so many edits to it, improving it and making sure it is so perfect by way of spelling, grammar and consistency, that I know whoever publishes it will find it needs little or no editing.

I like the idea of changing the name and in my case, that would work because PA doesn't have any copy of my book--just the query proposal.
 

lindylou45

Response I received from PA

This is the response I received from PA after demanding reversal of rights.


>
>Your misconceptions are so easy to contradict that your case has been
>given to Author Support. Please do not address us in such a tone. Your
>facts are wrong, your insinuations are wrong, and you are wasting your
and
>our time.
>
>>...However, the very fact that authors must buy their books
(regardless
>>of your denial) in order to stock bookstores simply means that you
(PA)
>>are getting your money after the fact instead of before.
>
>No, this is laughably not true. No author "must" buy anything at all.
>
>>So you deny the fact that your company was Erica Books prior to
changing
>>it's name to Publish America when complaints began rolling in.
>
>You lose credibility by using words like "deny." Listen carefully:
>
>PublishAmerica has never changed it's name.
>PublishAmerica has always been PublishAmerica from day one.
>PublishAmerica has never had any credible "complaints rolling in."
>
>>PA's authors will have to spend a huge amount of money on promotion
and
>>marketing their PA books, money that they will never be able to
recoup.
>
>No, they do not.
>
>>...PA should be more than willing to at least distribute the books to
>>"brick and mortar bookstores" something that PA loves to advertise
that
>>they do.
>
>No, we do not advertise that we do that. No publisher can do that.
Like
>all major publishers, our books are distributed to bookstores through
the
>world's largest distributor.
>
>>...the only books that are placed in "brick and mortar bookstores"
are
>>those that the author has gone out and placed there themselves.
>
>Sometimes this is true, and there's nothing wrong with that. But often
>this is not true. We won't bother to go into detail, here, but here's
just
>one example of the contrary being the case:
>www.publishamerica.com/cg...n/8622.htm
>
>>Your marketing practices are limited to asking the author for a list
of
>>friends and family that you can send order forms to in the hopes that
>>they will buy an abhorrently overpriced book.
>
>Not true. You were already sent a description of other marketing that
we do.
>
>>Regardless of your belief that the price of your books are not an
issue,
>>I can assure you, it is a major issue in attempting to promote these
books.
>
>Perhaps for you it is, but for thousands and thousands of our authors,
it
>is not.
>
>>As to your business model, I think we both know that your business
model
>>differs greatly from the "largest major publishing houses."
>
>No, actually it is basically identical, including our marketing
efforts.
>Again, every publisher differs from book to book as far as the
marketing
>and promotion that they will provide. No book publishing company has
the
>funds available to market each title for every author in the manner
that
>you describe.
>
>>We do not require that you ever purchase one copy of your book
>>
>>No, you say you don't require that the author purchase copies of
their
>>books. What you don't explain, and continue to deny vehemently, is
that
>>bookstores will not place PA's books in their stores because of PA's
>>non-returnable policy. In order to get books placed, an author must
buy
>>the books and guarantee that he/she will buy the books back if they
do
>>not sell. I, for one, cannot afford to do that. I doubt very highly
that
>>I am the only one.
>>
>>Ingram's is not a distributor, they are a warehouse. I would think,
as a
>>publisher, you would know that.
>
>No, you are completely wrong. Ingrams is the world's largest wholesale
>book distributor. We pay for the distribution of each title. Your book
is
>available through Ingram, as well as other distributors. Ingram is the
>major force in book distribution in the United States. Having your
book
>through Ingram makes it available for order at any bookstore.
>
>>However, with PA's no return policy, very few bookstores will ever
order
>>it, now will they?
>
>Yes, they will. If they think that it will sell, they will. Again,
many
>testimonials support this. It is unfortunate that they decided to
reject
>your book.
>
>>...the web site is quite deceitful in making authors believe PA will
be
>>doing much more.
>
>No, no one is "deceitful" at all. Funny that we've never had any
credible
>complaint from anyone feeling deceived. What we do have is 5,000 very
>happy authors in print who do not feel at all deceived.
>
>>As long as you have a huge volume of authors, you'll make money.
Being
>>the POD publisher that you are, (I know, you don't like to admit it,
but
>>we all know it's true)
>
>No, again. We print books on demand. We do not publish on demand.
>
>>In the past two years we have sold more than a quarter of a million
>>books, which stands in contrast to any allegation that our books are
not
>>competitively priced and/or supplied.
>>
>>I find it extremely interesting that you would admit this.
>
>Actually we misspoke. We will soon be approaching the million book
level.
>
>>Thousands, each and every month, of PublishAmerica books are sold in
>>bookstores. Hundreds of bookstores across the nation stock our books.
>>
>>Due to the hard work and diligence of the authors themselves. PA has
had
>>nothing to do with books being placed in bookstores.
>
>Not true.
>
>>I've spoken to several PA authors who have indicated that PA was
unable
>>to provide books for signings that were set up months in advance. If
I
>>were a bookstore manager and the publisher couldn't even provide the
>>books for the author's signing, it's doubtful I would be interested
in
>>ordering either.
>
>Not true. Our books are available by the thousands, and our turnaround
>times are well known and work very well.
>
>>I believed Publish America's statements on your web site were true. I
did
>>some research, however, when I first signed with you there were no
>>complaints as of that time. When I stupidly signed the second
contract my
>>first book had not been released as of yet. When I began hearing
>>rumblings of discontent among other PA authors I thought they were
>>attempting to cause trouble for a publishing company that simply
wanted
>>to make their authors' dreams come true. It took time, but I finally
>>discovered that PA is not, nor have they ever been, what they profess
to
>>be. I am shocked and appalled that anyone can so callously disregard
the
>>dreams of others. You make people believe their dreams can come true
and
>>then you sit back and profit from the unraveling of those dreams.
There
>>is a word for people like that, I believe it's criminal.
>
>You're making a spectacle of yourself with this sort of language.
8,000
>authors under contract, two or three complaining. That's a pretty good
record.
>
>>Due to the fact that Publish America has in the past and continues to
>>misrepresent their company as something it is not, I am requesting
that
>>you end both contracts for In Jessie's Shadow and Matt's Recovery
>>immediately and send a reversal of rights to me within the next 60
days.
>>I also want In Jessie's Shadow to be removed from your online
bookstore
>>immediately and the process for Matt's Recovery to be stopped at
once.
>
>>If you think for one moment that I will be unwilling to take this to
>>court, you should think again. My attorney is already investigating
this
>>situation.
>
>Your attorney's arguments will probably not be considered by us. Your
>request is denied. We will agree to revisit your request six months
from
>now. Please contact us again at that time. Also, please consider this
our
>final word on this issue.

Thank you,
Author Support Team
[email protected]


I guess you were right, I got the "don't address us in that tone" letter. What I find hilarious is their claim that they only have 2 or 3 dissatisfied authors. Hmm, I know of many more than that.

Also note that they are now changing their number of books published to "closing in on the million mark". Interesting timing!
:rofl
 

DaveKuzminski

How many?

"Well," Dirty PA sneered, "in all the excitement, I forgot to count. Was it 5,000 or 8,000 authors I wasted? So, you have to ask yourself this question. Do I feel lucky?"

My apologies to the Dirty Harry movies for this parody.

Now if only PA could respond in a credible manner. Something tells me, however, that they can't. In all likelihood, their claim of one million books is based upon the same false facts as their claim that their orders from that bookstore have quadrupled. After all, if you inflate one number, you have to change the rest to match. If I'm wrong, they can prove it by posting the invoices from their printers.

Also, I suspect that their sales average is closer to 50 books per author rather than the 71 to 75 that has been speculated about if only because it's a more attainable dollar amount for authors making personal purchases using their discounts.
 

aka eraser

Re: How many?

If I sell one book and then I sell a 2nd one, I suppose I'd be closing-in on a million too; just, really, really slowly.
 

DeePower

I think I'll send PA's arrogant book editor message to the

newspapers they list. I have the email addresses of about half the editors, it shouldn't be too hard to find the other half.

Dee
 

James D Macdonald

Re: well...name change

Yo, Gwen ---

I like the idea of changing the name and in my case, that would work because PA doesn't have any copy of my book--just the query proposal.

Hold up there. Let me see if I have this straight -- you're a first-time author, no track record, right?

They went to contract without ever seeing your book?

Is that right? Or did I miss something?
 

HapiSofi

Re: well...name change

Jim Macdonald said:
Yo, Gwen ---

"I like the idea of changing the name and in my case, that would work because PA doesn't have any copy of my book--just the query proposal."

Hold up there. Let me see if I have this straight -- you're a first-time author, no track record, right?

They went to contract without ever seeing your book?

Is that right? Or did I miss something?
Dang! I missed that. Gwen, consider that request seconded.
 

lindylou45

More crap from PA

This was sent to another author who is trying to get out of her contract. :rollin

Do not address us in such a tone. :rofl Please consult a lawyer before making such nonsensical accusations.

You have not be given anything misleading or deceiving. It goes without saying that your contracts remain fully in effect and legally binding. A polite and coherent query will result in a response to your issues. :ha

Thank you,
Author Support Team


You are under a wide variety of misconceptions, and we will expect your apology.

We are not under any sort of investigation, by anyone.

We have never, throughout our history, been under any sort of investigation, by anyone. Not the IRS, and not anyone, ever.

We do not have any "German company," nor have we ever, throughout our history, had anything even remotely resembling a "German company."

No authors are "rescinding" their contracts. Such a thing would not be possible, as our contract is legally binding and not able to simply be "rescinded." :lol

If you want your ebook rights, we will grant them to you. We are a traditional publisher, and everyone of any credibility does consider us just that. :head

If you have valid or coherent concerns at all, we would be happy to reconsider our decision, but for now your request is denied, and your contracts remain fully in force.

Thank you,
Author Support Team


These responses have frightened the author they were sent to. I find them hilarious. It is an obvious attempt to use scare tactics to end the "PA Rebellion". I have news for them, the party has just started! :party
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Response I received from PA

Oh, goodness, it's line-by-line time again! I so love reading PA's stuff. Let me see if I can fool with the formatting to make this easier to read.

<blockquote>

Your misconceptions are so easy to contradict that your case has been given to Author Support.
</blockquote>

I think they meant to say "correct" rather than "contradict," but graceful English prose has never been their strong suit, has it? I wonder about that "so easy ... given to Author Support" thing. Author Support can't handle tough questions?

<blockquote>
Please do not address us in such a tone. Your facts are wrong, your insinuations are wrong, and you are wasting your and our time.
</blockquote>

You don't like the tone? Tough noogies, guys. Wait'll you see the tone a lawyer takes... And as far as wasting time, you didn't waste a lot on this one did you? You see complaints like this so often you have a form letter all genned up.

<Blockquote>
...However, the very fact that authors must buy their books (regardless of your denial) in order to stock bookstores simply means that you (PA) are getting your money after the fact instead of before.

No, this is laughably not true. No author "must" buy anything at all.
</blockquote>

No, no author "must" buy their books. It's observable, however, that authors "will" buy their books, if that's the only way to get copies to reviewers, or onto bookstore shelves, or into the hands of readers. Not only "will" authors buy their own books, they "will" buy them in predictable numbers. To help this along, PA regularly sends emails to their authors urging them, by various inducements, to buy multiple copies of their own books. Copies of these emails exist, and can be supplied from multiple sources. Author Support saying that no author "must" buy their own books is like a spokesman from Mohegan Sun claiming that no one who arrives on those special busses from Boston and New York "must" play the slot machines.


<Blockquote>
So you deny the fact that your company was Erica Books prior to changing it's name to Publish America when complaints began rolling in.

You lose credibility by using words like "deny." Listen carefully:

PublishAmerica has never changed it's name.

</blockquote>

No, PA has always been PA, even though it shared the same building and staff as AmErica House, and even though to this day, PA books are listed at bn.com as published by "AmErica House."

<Blockquote>
PublishAmerica has always been PublishAmerica from day one.
</blockquote>

"Day one" being the day they changed their name from "AmErica House."


<Blockquote>
PublishAmerica has never had any credible "complaints rolling in."

</blockquote>

What's this? Chopped liver?


<Blockquote>
PA's authors will have to spend a huge amount of money on promotion and marketing their PA books, money that they will never be able to recoup.

No, they do not.
</blockquote>

Right, PA. They don't "have to," it's just that if they "don't" there isn't any promotion or marketing of their books.

<Blockquote>
...PA should be more than willing to at least distribute the books to "brick and mortar bookstores" something that PA loves to advertise that they do.

No, we do not advertise that we do that.
</blockquote>

Quite right. They don't "advertise" that they do. They insinuate, they suggest, they hint, they imply, they allow others to draw the conclusion, but they don't "advertise."

<Blockquote>
No publisher can do that. Like all major publishers, our books are distributed to bookstores through the world's largest distributor.
</blockquote>

PA is relying on a confusion of terms here. The wholesale distributors, like Ingram and Baker&Taylor, and the smaller independent distributors that field their own sales forces and publish their own catalogs, are both called "distributors." PA is confused when they say "no publisher can do that." Yes, PA is hooked up with Ingram, which is a major wholesale distributor. But, unlike the "major publishers" PA doesn't have its own sales force, doesn't publish a catalog (incidentally, doesn't offer the standard "long discount" through distributors), and, as a result, does not distribute their books to the brick-and-mortar bookstores in any meaningful way.

The proof of this is simple. If PA had a normal distribution system in place, you would expect to find hundreds of PA titles on bookstore shelves. You can't. Therefore, PA does not carry out distribution to the brick-and-mortar bookstores.

<Blockquote>
...the only books that are placed in "brick and mortar bookstores" are those that the author has gone out and placed there themselves.

Sometimes this is true, and there's nothing wrong with that. But often this is not true. We won't bother to go into detail, here, but here's just one example of the contrary being the case:
www.publishamerica.com/cg...n/8622.htm

</blockquote>

"Sometimes this is true"? How about 99% of the time? The reason they won't "bother" to go into detail is because they "can't." What does the word "often" mean here? The thread they quote, there, is an isolated instance from last December of one guy who heard that someone found two copies of his book on the shelf of a bookstore he'd never been in. He hasn't repeated the feat, and the rest of that thread was filled with people wishing it would happen to them, too. As to how those books got on the shelf -- who knows? Maybe a clerk punched in the wrong ISBN, got the books by mistake, and couldn't return them? So ... two books, once, more than six months ago. Is that what you're resting your case on, PA?

<Blockquote>
Your marketing practices are limited to asking the author for a list of friends and family that you can send order forms to in the hopes that they will buy an abhorrently overpriced book.

Not true. You were already sent a description of other marketing that we do.
</blockquote>

I'd love to see this list myself ... wait, don't tell me -- you may, if you feel like it, send a review copy to a reviewer who writes to ask for it? You list the book at Amazon, at BN.com, and on your own website?

Oh, Author Support, do you have any conception of how pathetic that is?


<Blockquote>
Regardless of your belief that the price of your books are not an issue, I can assure you, it is a major issue in attempting to promote these books.

Perhaps for you it is, but for thousands and thousands of our authors, it is not.
</blockquote>

That's because for thousands and thousands of their authors, who are selling to Mom and Dad, the price could be $100 a copy and Mom and Dad would still pay. Price only becomes important if you're trying to sell books to the general public. Then, I assure you, price is a major issue.


<Blockquote>
As to your business model, I think we both know that your business model differs greatly from the "largest major publishing houses."

No, actually it is basically identical, including our marketing efforts.
</blockquote>

I call bullshit. A flat lie.

<Blockquote>
Again, every publisher differs from book to book as far as the marketing and promotion that they will provide. No book publishing company has the funds available to market each title for every author in the manner that you describe.
</blockquote>

What manner did you describe? Let me say this: Every real, legitimate publisher promotes their books in a variety of ways, many of them invisible to the authors.

If PA's style of "promotion" actually worked, real, legitimate publishers would be doing it too.


<Blockquote>
"We do not require that you ever purchase one copy of your book." No, you say you don't require that the author purchase copies of their books. What you don't explain, and continue to deny vehemently, is that bookstores will not place PA's books in their stores because of PA's non-returnable policy. In order to get books placed, an author must buy the books and guarantee that he/she will buy the books back if they do not sell. I, for one, cannot afford to do that. I doubt very highly that I am the only one. </blockquote>

PA doesn't even attempt to answer this one.


<blockquote>
Ingram's is not a distributor, they are a warehouse. I would think, as a publisher, you would know that.

No, you are completely wrong. Ingrams is the world's largest wholesale book distributor.
</blockquote>

Please note the word "wholesale."

<Blockquote>
We pay for the distribution of each title.
</blockquote>

They do this by means of the discount on the title -- the distributor sells the books at a higher price than the publisher sells it to them. PA notoriously has a "short discount" through the distributor. This "pay for" isn't in real money, it's in credit.

<Blockquote>
Your book is available through Ingram, as well as other distributors. Ingram is the major force in book distribution in the United States. Having your book through Ingram makes it available for order at any bookstore.
</blockquote>

"Available for order" isn't the same as "stocked in bookstores." And the short discount (not to mention the non-returnability issue) isn't going to encourage many bookstores to order.


<Blockquote>
However, with PA's no return policy, very few bookstores will ever order it, now will they?

Yes, they will. If they think that it will sell, they will. Again, many testimonials support this. It is unfortunate that they decided to reject your book.
</blockquote>

I call bullshit again. A deft attempt to shift blame to the author from the publisher, but I think we can all see through that.

<Blockquote>
...the web site is quite deceitful in making authors believe PA will be doing much more.

No, no one is "deceitful" at all. Funny that we've never had any credible complaint from anyone feeling deceived. What we do have is 5,000 very happy authors in print who do not feel at all deceived.
</blockquote>

You never had any credible complaint? Excuse me? What are you looking at right here? And if you've never had one, why did you feel the need to come up with a form letter to answer those complaints? (I kinda doubt the "very happy" bit with the authors. Are the ones who are posting that they can't get their books into bookstores, that their books are overpriced, that PA takes months to ship orders, "happy"?)

<Blockquote>
As long as you have a huge volume of authors, you'll make money. Being the POD publisher that you are, (I know, you don't like to admit it, but we all know it's true)

No, again. We print books on demand. We do not publish on demand.
</blockquote>

A distinction without a difference. PublishAmerica is a Print On Demand publisher.

I'll tell you what's going on here. Lots and lots of people know that "PoD" has a whiff to it. PA denies that they're a "PoD" publisher. Then, when someone calls them on it, they say words to the effect of "What do you mean? We denied being a Publish on Demand publisher, not being a Print on Demand publisher! We didn't fib, attempt to mislead you, or otherwise engage in fraudulent business practices!"


<Blockquote>
"In the past two years we have sold more than a quarter of a million books, which stands in contrast to any allegation that our books are not competitively priced and/or supplied."

I find it extremely interesting that you would admit this.
</blockquote>

So do I. More than a quarter million -- let's say that's 260,000, divided by that 5,000 very happy authors, works out to 52 copies per author.

<blockquote>
Actually we misspoke. We will soon be approaching the million book level.
</blockquote>

"Misspoke" as in "couldn't keep our stories straight"? Looked at from one way, 260,000 is also "approaching the million book level." It's just not approaching it very fast. Weasel-words and hand-waving.

<Blockquote>
"Thousands, each and every month, of PublishAmerica books are sold in bookstores. Hundreds of bookstores across the nation stock our books."

Due to the hard work and diligence of the authors themselves. PA has had nothing to do with books being placed in bookstores.

Not true.
</blockquote>

Yes, it is. Or, perhaps, PA had something to do with the books getting placed in the bookstores. They printed them, didn't they?

<Blockquote>
I've spoken to several PA authors who have indicated that PA was unable to provide books for signings that were set up months in advance. If I were a bookstore manager and the publisher couldn't even provide the books for the author's signing, it's doubtful I would be interested in ordering either.

Not true. Our books are available by the thousands, and our turnaround times are well known and work very well.
</blockquote>

Very true.

How is it that H. B. Marcus himself, in his long-planned and highly publicized signing referred to on the first page of this thread, was only able to get two copies of his novel?

<Blockquote>
I believed Publish America's statements on your web site were true. I did some research, however, when I first signed with you there were no complaints as of that time. When I stupidly signed the second contract my first book had not been released as of yet. When I began hearing rumblings of discontent among other PA authors I thought they were attempting to cause trouble for a publishing company that simply wanted to make their authors' dreams come true. It took time, but I finally discovered that PA is not, nor have they ever been, what they profess to be. I am shocked and appalled that anyone can so callously disregard the dreams of others. You make people believe their dreams can come true and then you sit back and profit from the unraveling of those dreams. There is a word for people like that, I believe it's criminal.

You're making a spectacle of yourself with this sort of language. 8,000 authors under contract, two or three complaining. That's a pretty good record.
</blockquote>

Only two or three complaining? Really? I call bullshit a third time. Or do you mean two or three complaining today?

<Blockquote>
Due to the fact that Publish America has in the past and continues to misrepresent their company as something it is not, I am requesting that you end both contracts for In Jessie's Shadow and Matt's Recovery immediately and send a reversal of rights to me within the next 60 days. I also want In Jessie's Shadow to be removed from your online bookstore immediately and the process for Matt's Recovery to be stopped at once.

If you think for one moment that I will be unwilling to take this to court, you should think again. My attorney is already investigating this situation.

Your attorney's arguments will probably not be considered by us.
</blockquote>

Guys, it doesn't matter if the attorney's arguments are considered by you. What matters is whether they're considered by a judge in a court of competent jurisdiction.

<Blockquote>
Your request is denied. We will agree to revisit your request six months from now. Please contact us again at that time. Also, please consider this our final word on this issue.
</blockquote>

Their next notice should be from the process server. Go get 'em.


<Blockquote>
Thank you,
Author Support Team
[email protected]

</blockquote>
 

DeePower

Let the games begin!

This is a rather complicated email. I have broken down our
original May 20, 2004 letter to PublishAmerica demanding that
our contract be terminated. The paragraphs ****** before
and after are paragraphs or bullet points of our letter,
followed by the response from PublishAmerica. Because I know
so many people read this board I have also rebutted in several
instances the falsehoods of Pa’s responses. That rebuttal
is separated by ########.

Here we go.

*************************
Opening paragraph of Brian Hill’s and Dee Power’s demand for
termination of contract with PublishAmerica sent by fax and
US Postal Service Priority Mail with delivery confirmation.
This was NOT sent by email

Dear Mr. Meiners:

We are extremely displeased with our experience with Publish
America LLLP, in regard to our novel OVERTIME, which you
published in 2003. We entered into a contract with
PublishAmerica based on assurances, from material on your web
site and through e-mail correspondence from your company, that
you were a “traditional publisher.”

The bullet points contained in the letter are below with PA’s
response after each point.
***************************

PublishAmerica’s response

“Again, the tone of your letter is way out of place. Soon we
will sell our one millionth book! Neither your fax nor your
registered letter reached the intended recipient. Future
paper letters from you will be discarded unread.

“If, after reading our bulleted refutations below, you still
wish to end your contract, please renew your request, using [email protected] as your sole point of contact.

“None of it what we say is nonsense, and all of it is exactly,
completely accurate. What is nonsense is your tone, your
drama, and your whole escapade. There is no drama, no problem,
no attorneys in New York, and no issues at all. What there
appears to be is a simple request for contract termination.
We will deal with that request without any special
consideration at all.

“You do not need baseless jabs, drama, or a lawyer to request
termination of your contract. We will consider your request
at our next review meeting, to be held at our leisure,
probably within the next month or so. Our decision on your
contract will be made with disregard for your tone and
ridiculous and baseless accusations. Your communications with
us will not be made known to the committee making the
decision, and your untrue statements will not be considered.

“Your statements are so naive, so false, and so totally
baseless that it is difficult to even respond to them, but
we'll make a brief attempt.”
##########################################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

There is a real attorney in New York, experts in the
publishing and entertainment industry. This was no bluff on
our part and we are proceeding. Although going through legal
channels can be so d@mn frustrating because you have to wait
an appropriate amount of time before going to the next level.

********************************************
Our Bullet Point
Your no return policy has made it impossible to get bookstores,
particularly the large chains to order the book, despite the
fact we contacted numerous bookstores with personal letters
that included the excellent reviews our book has received.
We do not understand how you can represent your company as a
traditional publisher when you do not conform to one of the
basic standards of the publishing industry, which all
legitimate publishers follow.
********************************************

PublishAmerica’s answer

“- Return policy: Your statement is incorrect. Our returns
policy does not make it "impossible to get bookstores,
particularly the large chains, to order the book." Actually,
large chains order and stock our books all the time. Our
policy of accepting returns is in the experimental stage.
Non-returnable books may present some challenges, but are
becoming increasingly standard. Please see our message board
for testimonials by hundreds of authors whose books are
stocked in stores. There are hundreds and hundreds of
contradictions to what you say.”

############################################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

The contradictions are authors who have placed their books
in bookstores on consignment, meaning the bookstore has not
ordered the books and if the book sells they will pay the
author a percentage of the sales price usually 60%. The best
discount PA offers is 55% and the author must pay shipping.
So the author gets very little profit from a bookstore sale
on consignment.

Non-returnable books are only becoming increasingly standard
in PA’s mind, not the industry.

The message board is policed by PA and any and all negative
posts about difficulties with bookstores, reviews, anything
negative about PA are deleted and in most cases the author
banned from the message board.
##############################################

**********************************************
Our bullet point

When we contacted the sales director for a chain about having
book signing events at her stores, she said that PublishAmerica
books do not appear in their computer systems and thus they
could not order them.
***********************************************

PublishAmerica’s response
“- Sales director: Your statement is incorrect. The sales
director you mentioned is wrong. All bookstores have access
to Ingram's computer system, and all of our titles may be
found there. Additionally, all bookstore managers know this.”

##################################################
This happened to us at two chains. Additionally after
agreeing to schedule an event, one of the chains cancelled
it after realizing the book was by PublishAmerica. The only
reason, I believe the event was scheduled in the first place
was because the Community Relations Manager had done an event
for us previously concerning our business books.
#################################################

***************************************************
Our bullet point

The fact you do not discount the books with amazon.com has
made it extremely difficult to sell our book there, as
consumers expect to receive the discount, and traditional
publishers offer that discount as a matter of course.
**********************************************

PublishAmerica’s response
“- Amazon discounts: Your statement is incorrect. We do
discount books with Amazon.”

##################################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

Of the nearly 4000 titles listed on amazon.com in the
beginning of June 2004, only six were discounted. And yes I
looked at every single one.
#################################

***********************************************

Our bullet point

We paid Amazon.com for a special promotion of OVERTIME to
coincide with the football season, but when the promotion
ran the book was on a 5-7 day delivery status because you
did not make the books available, which effectively ruined
the promotion. In paragraph 3 of our contract with
PublishAmerica it states that “to cause copies so printed to
be bound, from time to time, in sufficient quantities to
supply purchasers of the said literary work therewith.” You
did not do that.
**********************************************

PublishAmerica’s response

“- On Amazon and availability: Your statement is incorrect.
“Yes, we did do that. Obviously our books are available in
any quantity. To suggest otherwise is just laughable. We've
sold upwards of a million books.”

######################################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

PA says “Yes they did do that” But what? Not provide the
books?

PA was notified of the promotion and failed to provide copies.
The book went from 24 hour delivery to 5 to 7 day delivery in
less than a day. No doubt many sales were lost.
######################################

***************************************

Our bullet point

You do not provide a catalog description to the Library of
Congress, and thus libraries will not order the books.
Traditional publishers do that as a matter of course
**************************************

PublishAmerica’s response

“- Libraries: Your statement is incorrect. Yes, libraries
order our books all the time. And yes, our books are listed
in the LoC.”

########################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.
Only three PublishAmerica titles were included in the LoC as
of the end of May 2004.
*********************************

The incredible volume of titles you are now publishing is
giving your company a reputation in the industry as a publisher
that will accept almost anything, whatever the quality, and
that negative reputation has now reflected on us. You represent
your company as a legitimate publisher but yet you do not attend
the BEA convention, as all other publishers of any size and
industry reputation do. When the number of submissions you
receive, as stated on your website, is compared to the number
of books you publish, it is clear your acceptance rate is about
60%, when with traditional publishers the acceptance rate is
less than 1%
*************************************

PublishAmerica’s response

- Reputation: Your statement is incorrect. No, we have no
such reputation at all. We're in the news constantly, all
over the country, and it's all good.

###################################
Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

Notice that PA never really addressed the concerns merely
danced around them.

I did a google search and other than one news article couldn’t
find PA in the news anywhere.
###################################

*************************************

Our bullet point

As part of your contract you demand that authors supply you
with 100 names of “friends and family” that you can send
announcements to when the books is published. Brian Hill’s
name was misspelled in the flier you sent. That was
inexcusable
*************************************

PublishAmerica’s response

- Direct Mailing: Your statement is incorrect. No, it is
not part of our contract, and no, we do not "demand" that
authors supply "100" names of friends and family. We only
suggest a list of acquaintances, out of popular demand for
this service, and it is entirely optional. About 90% of
our authors supply this list.

######################################

Rebuttal – not presented to PA – but may be of interest to
readers of this board.

Actually PA is correct in that the demand is not in the contract
but part of the materials that must be sent with the final
manuscript. And it is demanded. They also never apologized for
the misspelling.
######################################

Okay that’s enough for today, the letter goes on with lots of
propaganda. I will continue with the rest of the letter tomorrow.
Except for one little point

PA said:

“PublishAmerica continues to grow faster than any other
traditional publisher, and today we are apparently the most
popular publisher among new authors. More than 50 new authors
contact us every day, hoping to join you as a PublishAmerica
author. That's more than 12,000 hopefuls per year. At
least 80 percent of them never make it to the "published
author" status, because they don't pass our acquisitions
process, but that does not seem to discourage anyone from
submitting their work to us in ever growing, and frankly
astonishing, numbers. We read every single submission before
we accept or refuse.”

They have been contacted by 12,000 “hopefuls” and they decline
80%, which would mean that they would publish 2400 books a year
or 200 a month. They published more than double that in June and
are on that same level for July.

Dee Power
www.BrianHillAndDeePower.com
 

Sher2

More Crap From PA

<You have not be given anything misleading or deceiving.

These responses have frightened the author they were sent to. I find them hilarious. It is an obvious attempt to use scare tactics to end the "PA Rebellion". I have news for them, the party has just started!>


You have not be? Boy, you gotta love their command of the language. LOL.

I agree, it's hilarious, albeit scary to some who are on the receiving end of the "don't use that tone, young lady" letter. Are you lurking, Ms. Prather? The "PA Rebellion" is all fired up, armed with facts, and ready to rumble. I don't get scammed often but, when I do, it tends to piss me off, you know what I mean?
 

Euan Harvey

Re: Response I received from PA

James wrote:

>More than a quarter million -- let's say that's 260,000, divided by that 5,000 very happy authors, works out to 52 copies per author.

Oh, I think we should give them the benefit of the doubt.

Let's say they have sold a million books. Over those five thousand authors, that works out to 200 books an author.

What does the typical first novel sell from a traditional publisher?

Ten thousand copies? *

Let's be reasonable and halve that -- after all we're trying to put PA in the best possible light.

So an average first novel from an average publisher sells 5,000 copies.

The average novel from PA sells 200 copies.

That, I think, says it all. Even if you take the very best possible slant on their words, it's still pathetic.

Cheers,

Euan




* I got this figure from Eric Flint's discussion on building the Baen Free Library - www.speculations.com/freelib.htm . The sales figures are for 'Mother of Demons'. If anyone wants to correct me, go ahead and I'll edit the post. But I don't really think it's going to change the basic point.
 

Sher2

Response I Received From PA

<(MP: You lose credibility by using words like "deny." Listen carefully:
PublishAmerica has never changed it's name.)

No, PA has always been PA, even though it shared the same building and staff as AmErica House, and even though to this day, PA books are listed at bn.com as published by "AmErica House."

(MP: PublishAmerica has always been PublishAmerica from day one.)

"Day one" being the day they changed their name from "AmErica House.">


You did a terrific job of picking that turkey's bones, James. MP would no doubt be chagrined to know there's one image of a book cover still floating around the Net that says AmErica House, with PublishAmerica.com just beneath it. I saw it just today.

One last barb: MP says "PublishAmerica has never changed IT'S name." Excuse me, but isn't she the one who's supposed to be the English major?
 

DaveKuzminski

Re: Let the games begin!

"Soon we will sell our one millionth book!"

"We've sold upwards of a million books.”

Gee, they still haven't hired a decent editor to handle their own correspondence. Why would anyone believe that they'd hire one for editing manuscripts if something this simple in a single letter of probably no more than two pages can slip through? What's more, I'm not even going to point out the other problems with their letter because that would take the attention away from their outright lies.

That's right, PA. I called you a bunch of liars. This isn't a situation where you can claim advertising puffery. This is a response to a legitimate complaint and you're deliberately lying to the other party. You can't get away with exaggerations here like you can on your website.

In the meantime, please, try to take me to court for calling you a bunch of liars. I haven't had much fun lately and I'd so much like to embarrass and expose you in front of a judge and jury.
 

Sher2

Let the games begin!

<Actually PA is correct in that the demand is not in the contract but part of the materials that must be sent with the final manuscript. And it is demanded. They also never apologized for the misspelling.

"We read every single submission before we accept or refuse.”

They have been contacted by 12,000 “hopefuls” and they decline 80%, which would mean that they would publish 2400 books a year or 200 a month. They published more than double that in June and
are on that same level for July.>


Dee, I've been following your dilemma on this board. Sounds like a nightmare!

I think I sent them only about 10 names because I was a little uneasy about what was going to be done with them. I think they said they'd send a postcard or something announcing publication of the book, but I held back because I didn't want it to be perceived as a solicitation. Which I now know, of course, it will be. I wonder what would have happened if I'd declined to provide such a list, period?

As for their figures, I find them questionable. There's no way they're reading more than a few of the manuscripts sent to them. And I think the converse of the 80% rejection rate might be more accurate. It's probably more like 80% accepted, 20% rejected.
 

astonwest

Re: Response I received from PA

"The average novel from PA sells 200 copies."

Hot damn, I'm above average...puh-shaw...

"You did a terrific job of picking that turkey's bones, James. MP would no doubt be chagrined to know there's one image of a book cover still floating around the Net that says AmErica House, with PublishAmerica.com just beneath it. I saw it just today."

Mine was printed that way as well...of course, that was a while back...I've always been interested in how the business is set up...PublishAmerica is apparently incorporated, and AmErica House Publishing Co. is an LLC?

Big Daddy West
:hat
 

KW

Response I received...

"So you deny the fact that your company was Erica Books prior to
changing
>>it's name to Publish America when complaints began rolling in.
>
>You lose credibility by using words like "deny." Listen carefully:
>
>PublishAmerica has never changed it's name.
>PublishAmerica has always been PublishAmerica from day one.
>PublishAmerica has never had any credible "complaints rolling in."


Funny, since I have two books in my hands right now that are from Americahouse and the two authors were regulars on the PA MB. If they never changed the name then why is some of their books listed under americahouse?

Plus I have complained to them numerous times. Plus there are many people her and at mindsight that are not happy with PA, not to mention the few that bring it up on the PA MB. Either they are lying to their authors or they don't know how to count, either way, it doesn't look good on them.

"Not true. You were already sent a description of other marketing that
we do."

Funny, I never received the list from them when I signed the contract. Maybe they forgot to mail me one?:shrug

"Perhaps for you it is, but for thousands and thousands of our authors,
it
>is not."

Guess the AST :rofl doesn't have time to read the boards before the ones complaining about high priced books are pulled or again they are lying. Either way, not good...and in case PA is reading this, not good means bad.

"No, actually it is basically identical, including our marketing
efforts"

Simple way to prove this statement really. Give us the name(s) of the people in your marketing department.

" Yes, they will. If they think that it will sell, they will. Again,
many
>testimonials support this. It is unfortunate that they decided to
reject
>your book."

Again, big lie. My book would sell, since in this area King, Koontz, Saul, etc. are some of the bigest sellers. My book lies in the same vein as theirs. Again, no bookstore would order it for the no return policy and bad experiences with other PA books. Bookstores not only rejected this person's book, but mine, as well as others, as well. It is a shame when I couldn't get my book stocked or get a signing and a week before I asked a man with xilbris had a signing.

"No, no one is "deceitful" at all. Funny that we've never had any
credible
>complaint from anyone feeling deceived. What we do have is 5,000 very
>happy authors in print who do not feel at all deceived."

Well, lets check out their site shall we?

FACT #1: Unique among all traditional book publishing companies, PublishAmerica counts more than 8000 happy authors. Each day, an average 5 of them ask us to also accept their next work, 25 second-book authors per week, 100 per month. By any standard, this is an amazingly high number of return authors, unseen in the rest of the book publishing company industry.

Here they say 8,000 authors, in their response, 5,000. Did they lose 3,000 authors? or is this a mistake? Couldn't be a mistake since they claim they are 8,000 strong all the time. So they eithr lost 3,000 authors or this is an old form letter. If this is an old form letter then why would they need it if their authors are happy?

FACT #3: Again, unparalleled among all traditional book publishing companies, each day an average 15 times a PublishAmerica author appears in the news media, in newspapers, magazines, radio or TV. The authors of this book publishing company have been interviewed, reviewed or introduced in literally thousands of newspapers across the country, from the Washington Post to the Clackamas County News, from the Kingwood Observer to the Los Angeles Times to Women's World Magazine. They have made appearances on local TV, and on national ABC, CNN, MSNBC and FOX TV. They also have been interviewed by radio shows hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Don Imus, Diane Rehm, and Oliver North.

What they don't say is that the authors did all of this theirselves, no help from PA. Plus I know of a few that were on talk shows for other reasons than their books. This makes the new author dumbfounded as they dream of getting on these shows. It doesn't say that PA helped them get on, but it doesn't say they didn't either. They leave it up to the new wannabe to make their own decison. It's deceitful to me.

FACT #6: PublishAmerica is a traditional, royalty paying publisher. We are strongly opposed to charging fees, ever. There's no catch, no hidden surprises. We even pay small advances to indicate our principle. The author is never, ever, under any obligation to pull their wallet to make any purchase whatsoever. We don't want their money. We want their book. All expenses involved with acquiring, producing, manufacturing, and publishing a book, and marketing it to the industry's wholesale and distribution channels for full availability through all bookstores at home and abroad are underwritten by PublishAmerica solely. This is one of our main claims to fame, and one that we are very proud of. All authors are treated equally here.

I posted this for the last sentence. Not all authors are treated equally. If you tote the line and claim PA is great, you are treated equal. If you ask questions you are banned and left with no answers to your questions. Not fair to me.

FACT #8: ALL publishers use digital (Print-On-Demand) technology for printing, from all major publishing houses such as Random House down. In fact, Random House produces significantly more print-on-demand books than PublishAmerica. They also use the offset technology. PublishAmerica uses the offset technology occasionally as well, each time a larger run is necessary.

Random House does more print on demand? Really? I didn't think no other company released 200-300 books a week. So this is a lie. PA uses offset technology? They claim to not print the book until it is ordered so why would they need to run offset? I can't imagine any bookstore ordering hundreds of copies and the authors don't order that many either.

FACT #10: If you are in a hurry, don't choose a traditional publisher. Pull out your wallet, pay a vanity outfit hundreds of dollars, then pay an extra premium, and maybe you can get your book printed within a mere six weeks. That's what you get if you don't mind the stigma of vanity publishing. They don't care what your book looks like. You demand, they publish. At PublishAmerica, we're totally different. With us, you'll need patience. We are very careful with our books.

We are very careful with our books. Another lie. I know of two authors that had their books messed up by PA. :smack

FACT #11: We assign an editor who goes through the text line by line. Let's put this in perspective. We don't touch style issues, we don't edit the author's voice, tone, or delivery. We edit for spelling, mechanics, grammar, typos, and trust us, that's a vital and time consuming job. Together, our editing staff makes more than 35,000 (!) corrections, each day, to the books they work on that day. We then send a book back to the author, up to three times, to ensure that it looks exactly as the author wants it to look. We assign a graphic designer who comes up with a unique cover design. They communicate with the authors, to hear their suggestions and ideas, so that they can be incorporated into the design. All of that takes time, and we believe that the authors WANT it to take time. After all, this is their life's work. They want it to be treated accordingly. They want time control, they want quality over hurry. We assure them both.

LIE, LIE, LIE, Uhmmmm, bullshit. There is no line by line edit, I can vouch for this personally. My book has the same spelling mistakes that the original mss had when I sent it in. My spellcheck didn't catch it, why sould theirs huh?:shrug

FACT #12: PublishAmerica is only interested in a book's publishing rights. We don't want any other rights, unless an author insists that we carry them on his/her behalf. Movie rights, audio rights, TV rights, merchandising rights, the copyright, they all remain the author's. We are a BOOK publisher, the only way we earn our money is by selling books, and we're very good at that. Everything else can be done better by others. Our contracts expire after seven years, unlike the life term that most other traditional publishers require. Maybe that's one of the reasons why our contracts seem to be particularly liked by lawyers: we count a few hundred attorneys among our authors.

Lie again. Man they are persistent aren't they? As it has been shown, the rights to the book are hidden in paragraph 24 I believe. They also throw in the ebook rights in the contract as well. They keep talking about the hundreds of lawyers, give us a list. I would like to see the names. From what I see, most lawyers think the contract is a load of crap.

And my best one.

We treat our authors the old- fashion way...we pay them.:rofl

They don't pay us, they spring for a happy meal every six months. For the rights to our books they buy us lunch twice a year. Damn, this is such a nice company isn't it?:ha

"Thousands, each and every month, of PublishAmerica books are sold in
>>bookstores. Hundreds of bookstores across the nation stock our books."

Well, this isn't very promising is it? I mean, come on. You have 8,000 authors and thousands sell a month? So, if you sell 10 thousand a month then each author only sold 1-2 books. That's not good is it PA?

"You're making a spectacle of yourself with this sort of language.
8,000
>authors under contract, two or three complaining. That's a pretty good
record."

See, here they say 8,000, when awhile ago it was 5,000. Did they forget how many authors they have? If they forgot this what else are they forgetting? Again, they can't count. I can name ten people off the top of my head that are complaining about PA, and this is just recently.

"Your attorney's arguments will probably not be considered by us. Your
>request is denied. We will agree to revisit your request six months
from
>now. Please contact us again at that time. Also, please consider this
our
>final word on this issue."

This is just trying to make them look big and bad. Trying to show the world that they can do what they want when they want. PA isn't above the law, and they will come down. When you are served, you are served. There is no consideration on their part. You would figure they would know this since they have hundreds of lawyers in their stable.

Kevin Yarbrough
 

lindylou45

Re: How many?

PA indicates that thousands of our books are "order ready" - which makes the author believe they are sitting at Ingram's ready to be shipped. I called Ingram's yesterday. They have two (2) of my books in their warehouses. One in each warehouse apparently.

They use author support because, as you can see from earlier posts, there are no names signed at the end of the email. They also like to use email instead of snail mail for the same reason. Their thought is that if it isn't signed, it isn't legal and who's to say the author didn't just type that up on their computer? It's not going to fly with me. I'll be sending my complaint by certified mail and if they choose to throw it away that's just one more thing they'll have to explain to the judge!

Bring it, Baby! The more they try to weasel out of this the more idiotic they seem, which just makes me all the happier! :snoopy
 

Jarocal

The should keep their scam a bit more fluid

Pa should modify their scam a bit. It may not work at the moment as they are probably spending the money they are making off the new author's too quickly. While on the side of the writers I think the contract should be changed, with the way it is now PA would be able to make some changes that appear to be bending toward the making the operation closer to a traditonal publisher while only embedding the cost to the author end of the thing a bit deeper. Start off rejecting a few more manuscripts (they can even do it randomly, actually reading the script needs only be done to the level they do it now). Move out of the expensive Townhouse and pick up an old warehouse somewhere (Unless Mr Meiner's lives there). Make a few pictures of the new site and photoshop it up to look like an expansion (even though it will be a lower lease). Alter the wording in the contract and on the website that PA will now stock books and take returns (only from selected chains). It doesn't matter because any returns will still be bought by the author at the end of six years to keep their rights to the book (thanks to Paragraph 24). When the book is ready for press, have it set to run on an initial offset (or when cash flow allows) run of 500-1000 and have it also set to be run POD by Lightning Source. Price every copy as if it were being done by LS as they are now. Don't offer any promotion that is not already done (40 form letters to family/friends, then sell the mailing list). Throw the cases of books in the "New expanded PA Headquarters" (aka old warehouse). There will be a quick injection of a small amount of cash as Brick and Mortars are more willing to stock when they can return, and any returns will be negated by invoicing on other newer titles that come out and local store managers are bullied into carrying by the author.

With the initial run being done offset and the price still being that of the digital printed book, the profit margin is higher and not many are required to hit a profit margin. It is still a higher number than with just straight POD but it is a gamble that will in most instances pay off.

Keep offering the same specials to the Author that they offer now because what you don't sell over time to the author you will sell to them before the contract is up and you "decide to drop them due to lack of sales".

The other thing that would benefit them is when they find the book that sells 500-1000 copies because of the efforts from the author hawking their book everywhere they have a higher profit margin than they would have had with LS. IF the person happens to get 500 titles moved fast enough, run a second offset run and stack them in the warehouse (the author has to have some books to buy back in order to get their rights back).

They still haven't changed their royalty structure, increased the advance, or even taken out the blatent grab for rights in the contract, but they would have removed one of the biggest gripes the author's have. NO bookstore sales because of the no returns policy. Offer the no returns policy, but make it come back to bite the author in the end by making them shell out up to five grand for books in inventory to get their rights back.
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Response I received...

I think the difference is between 5,000 authors "in print" and 8,000 authors "under contract."

<hr>

They also like to use email instead of snail mail for the same reason.

Either that, or at some point someone involved in the company developed a healthy respect for the Postal Inspectors.
 

Gwen4

Re: well...name change

They don't have a copy of my manuscript. They read the synopsis, three chapters and said they'd give it "The exposure it deserved."
 

James D Macdonald

Fact 8

<Blockquote>FACT #8: ALL publishers use digital (Print-On-Demand) technology for printing, from all major publishing houses such as Random House down. In fact, Random House produces significantly more print-on-demand books than PublishAmerica. They also use the offset technology. PublishAmerica uses the offset technology occasionally as well, each time a larger run is necessary.</blockquote>

First of all, digital printing is a technology; Print on Demand is a business model.

Random House may use digital printing for short-run printing -- to print up Advance Reading Copies or bound galleys, for example. Random, however, does not use the Print on Demand business model, as PA does.

The fundamental thing to remember with this "more than" business is that Random prints and sells a heck of a lot of books, while PA prints and sells very few.

While PA says "Random House produces significantly more print-on-demand books than PublishAmerica," that's only true if you allow that earlier phrase "ALL publishers use digital (Print-On-Demand) technology for printing...." equating the two. Actually, Random House produces no Print-on-Demand books, since Random House is a traditional publisher, rather than a Print-on-Demand publisher. They have a different business model.

I'm certain that PA uses offset from time to time. For example, when they are dissolving a contract and need to come up with the 49 copies of "overstock" to sell back to the author. I'm pretty sure those are printed offset. You get your first price break in offset around fifty copies. So ... 49 for the author at a ridiculous price, one for their records, and off you go.
 

vstrauss

Re: Response I received...

>> Funny, since I have two books in my hands right now that are from Americahouse and the two authors were regulars on the PA MB. If they never changed the name then why is some of their books listed under americahouse?<<

The earliest contracts, issued in late 1999/early 2000, show the name AmErica House. Obviously Meiners was trying to retain identity with Erica House, his print vanity publisher. In correspondence from that period, AmErica House is identified as "a logo" of PublishAmerica Inc. So PA is telling the truth. It hasn't changed its name, it has just mostly stopped using the "logo", which has been allowed to wither away along with Erica House, the original operation.

I have to give Meiners a lot of credit. He obviously saw the potential of POD early on, and jumped on it with a really innovative business model. Apart from the straightforward POD-based self-pub companies, he was one of the first to make the connection between the new (at that time) POD technology and the huge untapped market of would-be writers.

>>8,000 authors under contract<<

The downfall of con artists is greed. The major literary scams that have failed (Deering Literary, Northwest Publishing, Commonwealth Publications, Edit Ink, Press-Tige Publishing), as well as many smaller ones that I've seen come and go over the years, have failed because the owners got greedy. There's a delicate balance between keeping your clients ignorant and happy and tipping them off by pissing them off. When a scam outgrows its ability to consistently deceive, or the scammers get so cocky about their success that they forget that part of a good scam is the illusion of legitimacy, client dissatisfaction can reach a tipping point, causing the scam to implode.

I think that what may tip PA isn't its shoddy practices, or even its nasty attitude, but volume. At some point it will simply get too big to keep going.

- Victoria
 

James D Macdonald

Traditional vs. PdD

There are other differences too, but here are a couple of quick ways to tell the difference between traditional publishing and Print (Publish) on Demand publishing business models:

Traditional:

* Returnable books
* Printed in advance of orders

Print (Publish) on Demand:

* Non-returnable books
* Printed after orders are received.
 
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